Page 52 of Infamous Heart

“I don’t—“

“I need Sentinel.”

The phone went silent. Zipper groaned and then coughed, blood spitting from his lip. Even if he and Cobalt woke up, they weren’t in any shape to fight.

“I’m clearing the mission with operations.”

“Track my phone.”

“Griffin, stay safe.”

That wasn’t an option.

21

Liquid black.The wall resembled paint on my palette, and if I reached out, I’d find it smeared against my palms. Wraith wielded the black like a weapon, the tendrils emerging and attacking at her command. I half expected them to shoot out and drag me in.

Something on the other side of the wall exploded. A car? The sound of crushing brick followed. Was Sebastian inside already duking it out with Wraith? Had she claimed the lives of the Beacon employees, or was she torturing before murdering them?

I pushed my hand against the black, surprised at the goop. Unlike before, her shadows had substance, like a wall of gelatin. My hand easily sank in, and I retracted it at the sound of sheering metal.

“Thirty paces forward, twenty to the left.” I tried to guesstimate the distance to the Beacon. If this was like the previous attack, I’d be going in blind and without my sight, there wasn’t much I could do to help Sebastian. But if I could help protect the Beacon employees while he concentrated on dispatching Wraith…

“In for a penny…”

I stepped into the darkness.

“In for a pound.”

I cracked open my eyes to find nothing changed. Open or closed, the world remained black. It was darker than any night I had ever experienced, and no matter where I turned, it felt like an infinity. I was officially in Wraith’s world and at any moment, I expected to feel her hands grip my neck.

I started counting. Each step meant further from safety. Even if I turned around and bolted, I couldn’t be sure I wouldn’t run into a wall. I kept my hands in front of me, fearful I might stumble onto the soft skin of a killer.

Every muscle tensed as my palms pressed against an unknown object. Hard, cold, possibly metal, but otherwise, I couldn’t identify the thing blocking my path. I turned to the left, taking steps closer to the building as I let my fingers trail on along thething.They passed over a gap before touching something less smooth. An upside-down car had been flung onto the sidewalk.

Ten paces closer to the building, I had at least another fifty before I reached the area with glass doors leading inside the Beacon. Did Wraith’s abilities penetrate walls? Did the darkness extend inside the building, or would it spill inside as I opened the door?

I reached the end of the car when something in the distance disrupted the veil of darkness. A burst of light shone through the darkness. My heart jumped, trying to shove its way into my throat. A second later, a brilliant figure vanished into the darkness. He blinked again in a furious flash of white, reminding me of late evening thunderstorms. Darkness, and then a brief bolt of lightning cutting through the veil of night.

Did he always know he could fly or was this a newly acquired ability? Beams of light shot from his palms, slicing through the black. Any belief that he might be in cahoots with Rebecca vanished. Black tendrils snaked around his body and each time they took hold, the light surged.

“He’s fighting.”

Sebastian could deal with Wraith. His sidekick would secure her targets. Comic books had prepared me for this moment. All those countless hours reading about the secret lives of heroes would finally pay off.

The light vanished again, and I shimmied along the sidewalk until I thought I was nearing the doors of the Beacon. I walked toward the building and nearly banged my head into a cement pillar. Every building felt the same, brick, maybe glass, but there was little to tell them apart. I moved along until my hands found a large shape protruding from the brick.

“The Beacon,” I whispered. Every day for years, I had seen the sign on the side of the building. I hated the font they used, a tacky afterthought that no designer would have ever allowed. I was only ten feet from the entrance.

“You can’t hide from me,” boomed Wraith’s voice. I shimmied quicker, worried she had discovered that I had entered her domain.

I found the handle of the door. Pulling at it, I stepped from the sidewalk into the Beacon. I stumbled over the threshold and as I caught my balance, I stood half covered in Wraith’s black. With another step, I was standing in the lobby, free of her influence.

“Griffin?” Sofia had backed herself against the wall of the lobby. Her arm had been put in a sling. “She’s back.”

I nodded. Twice in as many days Sofia had endured Wraith’s villainy. I didn’t have time to go into a long explanation. If Sebastian kept her busy, I could at least help get the employees out of the rear exit.

“She’s here for the Beacon.” I pulled free of the darkness, surprised at the dryness on my skin. “She’s been targeting employees.”

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